Revision of Niobrara encarsia, teleost (Osteichthyes, Tselfatiiformes) from the marine Upper Cretaceous of Kansas (United States)

The author studies the osteology of Niobrara encarsia, a monospecific genus of fossil teleost from the marine Upper Cretaceous of Kansas. He redefines the genus and the species, emphasizes the plesiomorphies and apomorphies of this fish, and confirms its belonging to the Tselfatiiformes (= Bananogmiiformes). Niobrara differs from all the other Tselfatiiformes by the peculiar pattern of its skull roof where the pterotics are rejected posterior to the parietals. It is one of the most primitive genus inside the Tselfatiiformes and, within the order, is more particularly related to the genus Bananogmius.